The author, in this study, examines from a comparative and historical perspective the rise, fall, and legacy of the political movement of Eurocommunism. Focusing on the Communist Parties of Italy, France, Spain, and the small but significant KKE Interior, during the period of the “long 70’s,” which extends from the turning point of 1968 to just before the collapse of the communist world, he approaches a defining “moment” in the evolution of the European Left.

The central thesis is that Eurocommunism was a bold political endeavor that sought to re-establish strategic direction and coherence in the European communist movement, during a window of opportunity opened by the dual crisis of the Soviet and Western models, but also within the limitations of the era. “Party of struggle and party of governance”: this was the original political synthesis attempted by Eurocommunists, combining movement-based radicalism with a pragmatic reformism, linking socialist transformation with the issue of the state and power, liberal democracy, and a pluralistic society, through their competitive and symbiotic relationship with social democracy and in the perspective of shaping a political project on a European scale.

Eurocommunism is simultaneously a hub that connects the past with the present of the European Left. Despite its historical defeat, it defined and continues to define as crucial, albeit contradictory, heritage the orientations of today’s post-communist, radical Left in Europe.

Gianis Balabanidis was born in Thessaloniki in 1980. He studied law and political science in Greece and France. He holds a PhD in Comparative Politics from Panteion University and is a graduate of the National School of Public Administration. He is a member of the editorial board of the journal Contemporary Issues and a research associate at the Center for Political Research at Panteion University. The present book is a revised version of his doctoral thesis.